The Halixis Insurrection: Alarming Discovery
by Lord Sadacchus
Summary: When the foul xeno orchestrate a sector-wide civil war, the actions of a soul-weary Lord Inquisitor, an innovative Lord Admiral, and a naive PDF General culminates in a discovery that would launch of one of the largest – and most desperate, crusades since the Horus Heresy. Contains Halo influence.
1. Prologue-Burden of the Inquisition

Disclamer: I do not own Warhammer 40k, nor do I own Halo. They belong to Games Workshop and Bungie.

* * *

**ATTENTION:**

**This Dataslate is the property of the Emperor's Holy Inquisition.**

**The act of non-authorized viewing, tampering, or damaging the contents of this dataslate will subject the offender and his/her family to death, arco-flaggeration, and/or any other form of capital punishment deemed just by the High Lords of Terra.**

**The Emperor Protects**

* * *

Catherin Vikes, Lord Inquisitor of the Ordo Xenos quickly flicked through the warning of the dataslate. It was a standard one, listed on every dataslate owned by the Inquisition. Essentially a quick notice stating that anyone messing with the Inquisition's belongings could be punished in whatever forms the Inquisition wanted. No one, not even the High Lords of Terra nor the most vaunted Chapter Master of the Space Marines, were immune to the prosecution of the Inquisition. What was true for individuals was also true for entire worlds, whose punishments ranged from the death of the planetary governor by the virtue of a well-placed vindicare assassin to a life-ending exterminatus heralded by the ominous shapes of cyclone torpedoes plunging into the doomed world's atmosphere.

That was the power of the Inquisition.

The Inquisition had great power for a reason. Because the responsibility it shouldered was equally large; the defense of the Imperium of Man from the Traitor, the Heretic, and the Mutant. Whether it an external threat or subversion from within, the Inquisition was designed to be a swift and merciless dispenser of the Emperor's justice, be it in the form of a scalpel or a sledgehammer.

True, the Inquisition was often forced to the forefront in its unending struggle to safeguard the unity and purity of the Imperium. Sometimes in the form of a Grey Knight contingent slaying a greater deamon in the epicenter of a planetary battle, or the bloody cleansing of an entire hive city by holy promethium of the Adepta Sororitas. Many other times however, the Inquisition worked from the shadows; the assassination of an overly ambitious general, the massacre of entire heretical cults by cover of night, or the manipulation of xeno populations to cause a revolt against their Tau overlords. And yet, despite the tireless vigilance of the Inquisition, there were occasions when something was overlooked, when a threat passed under the radar, undetected, until it was too late.

This was one of those occasions.

Vikes sighed. _How did this happen again? _She thought, doing a quick mental refresh of her memory. The details were slowly dragged from her tired brain as she recalled what little she learned from the myriad dataslates she had read before this one. _A xeno empire… the Shaleen Covenant. It was a collection of numerous xeno species recently united under a single banner. _As her memories started flowing, she gazed upon the report. It was from her old friend and former subordinate Inquisitor Valorum

* * *

To Lord Inquisitor Catherine Vikes

I am glad to inform you that the compilation of data on the Shaleen Covenant by accessing the rogue trader archives continues to bear fruit. We have finally found information pertaining to the xeno that make up the Covenant. As we both suspected it seems that their social and political structure is highly influenced by their species. There seems to be some similarity to the Tau Castes, only with the species becoming the foundation of the caste system, at least in the higher strata. Communication with the besieged planets within the Halixis sector continues to be erratic at best, but we have managed to piece together a passable chart of the Covenant's hierarchy as well as descriptions of the xeno species that have been encountered in service of the Covenant so far. As we do not have an official designation for most of these species we shall use the names given out by the PDF of the worlds that have encountered them, the less prominent names would be in parenthesis.

The first is the Avians (or Jackals/Vultures/Bijacks). These beings have blacked skinned with dark coloured feathers encircling its beak. It must be noted that it possesses a partial exoskeleton from the area of the chest upward to neck, and that its skin is think and hard enough be considered hide. Roughly between 1.45 to 1.65 meters tall, they are slightly shorter than the average human. According to reports, they are being used as the standard rank-and-file troops by the Covenant, although a few seem to have ascended to a high ranks within the Covenant command structure.

The second species are the Elites (or the Lizards/Bladewarriors/Jorsen). They are, for most purposes, the NCOs and officers. Though at times they have also been grouped into all-Elite fire-teams, most of the time they lead the Avians and other troops to battle. Not much is known about their physiology, as they usually use fully encasing armor. Their height is between 1.75 to 1.9 meters tall, and they have demonstrated a surprising agility and dexterity in combat. Archaic rogue trader records state that their society was based on their solidly militant and austere culture.

The third species are the Gorillas (or Chargers/Brutes/Breakers). Being, at average, two meters tall, these xeno are highly muscled and have usually been used as shock troopers, the equivalent of our orgryns. Unlike the elites, they rarely use fully encasing armor, I suspect because they are not highly valued in the Covenant hierarchy. Again, rogue trader archives has casted a light of knowledge on this xeno. It appears that the Gorillas culture was also very warlike, similar to the elites. The difference is that the Gorillas were more tribal and warrior-like; emphasizing personal bravery and cunning while the Elites emphasized discipline and order. A small wonder the Elites are higher up in the totem pole.

The Bugs (or Flies/Grubs) are the final xeno species we have hard data on. They are very short indeed, about a meter tall, 1.2 at the most. Their most redeeming features are their bug-like wings, which give them limited aerial locomotion. Used by the Covenant as infiltrators and flankers, these xeno have impressing tactical worth, but will be no match in a stand-up fight against trained troops. The rogue trader archives states that when they were first encountered two millennia ago, they were still in the tribal state, unlike the Gorillas and the Elites, who were in the Feudal age. The archive contains a passing comment on the high level of mutation that happens to this xeno, as well as its telepathic nature. Although the bugs do not form into a hive-mind if bunched together, they do conjure minor psychic powers if a significantly large group is clustered together and faces a common focal point. Because of the disjointed nature of their psychic power, they seem to be unable to tap into it except when in total tranquility or total panic. Even then, their massed powers are only equal to the weaker sanctioned psychers we use.

Of course, there are almost certainly other xeno species in the Covenant, one of them being the Tanks (Warlords/Blasters/Shockers), who are even taller than the Gorillas yet also having a wider and bulkier frame. Sadly we still haven't found any information on them other than the fact that they are walking weapons platforms. None of the rogue trader archives nor the sector lexicanum scholaris have managed to heave up any mention of xeno that have dimensions or a similar description to the Tanks. Despite that, hopefully we could gain data on it once the Mechanicus allows my retinue to access their explorator files.

The Elites, with their discipline, make good frontline commanders, but I am sure that another xeno-species leads the covenant as a whole. As stated, while the Elites might lead the military echelons of the Government it is possible that they only hold middling levels in the government hierarchy. I also suspect that there is a primary psycher species, as the Bugs psycher abilities are extremely limited. Since the Covenant also uses the same form of warp travel as we do, we can only guess at their method of navigation. Either they have subverted traitorous navigators or they have formed their own navigator caste.

Lastly, the Adeptus Biologis, the rogue trader council, and other experts in the field of xeno culture all agree that whoever the leaders of the Covenant are, they must have very long memories, extreme patience, or elder-like longevity. So far, the majority of the rogue traders agree that long lifespans must be a trait of the leading species of the Covenant. Seeing how long they've been silently infiltrating our government and military, I find it prudent to agree with them. Those xeno are way too good at long term planning for comfort.

Ah, and before I go back to reading dusty tomes and old dataslates, attached are some illustrations and pics of the xeno species. One of my retainers found them in the rogue trader archives.

Emperor protect you, and may he guide us all

Inquisitor Valrig Valorum

* * *

Vikes finished reading the dataslate and sighed, fatigue and weariness briefly overcoming the triple mugs of recaff she had consumed. Slumping into her work chair, Vikes briefly massaged her brow before going on to read even more dataslates, some also from Inquisitor Valorum, and others from the Arbites, Imperial Navy, or any other institution, noble house, or government which felt it prudent to report their newest findings or to beg her for reassurances.

To think, a formerly disjointed collection of xeno states somehow unified in the span of less than two millennia, lifting numerous sub-industrial, feudal, or even tribal civilizations into imperial levels of technology. This empire had then set about to subvert an entire _sector _into its claws (or fingers, or hooves, or whatever they had on the edges of their appendages). Vikes knew the cycle of which a faithful planet would be slowly manipulated into forsaking the Emperor. Usually, bureaucrats were the first to be subverted, and they, in turn, subverted the leadership, who then subverted the military and the populace. Given another generation, the results would have been catastrophic, with entire governments, as well as their military apparatus, all suddenly revolting against the Imperium of Man in one fell swoop.

An unsuspecting Inquisitional investigation to the suspicious deaths multiple high-ranking Arbites had stumbled upon the plot. The aftermath was a desperate and anarchic series of purges, counter-purges and coups as the subverted individuals and planets, knowing that the Emperors justice would soon be looming over them, revolted before the Covenant's plan and preparation was mature.

Quick Inquisitional action helped saved part of the Halixis sector, but it could not save all of it. A third of the worlds in the Halixis sector were plunged into civil war, some planets even directly withdrawing from the Imperium without any resistance, so complete had their subversion been. Worse, what was already a dire situation became much grimmer as the Covenant fleets steamrolled through the frontier worlds, besieging loyalist planets whilst encouraging insurrectionist movements.

In the midst of all this, even the power of the Inquisition was blunted, as entire naval squadrons and guard regiments turned traitor, following the traitorous example of the planetary governments they were stationed at. Even the sector governor and Lord Admiral was found to be a xeno sympathizer. Only the Arbites and Mechanicus had emerged from the Inquisition's purges unscathed.

This led to her current condition, traveling to a backwater sector to pick up a new Lord-Admiral. The Imperium needed to shore up the defenses of the loyalist planets and prepare a counter-attack, and a functioning Imperial navy was vital for that. Since going through the bureaucracy was simply out of the question, the Inquisition had stepped in; basically waving the sacred badge of duty to make what would usually take months happen in weeks.

One the actions the Inquisition had taken into its own hands was the appointment of the new Lord-Admiral of Battlefleet Halixis. The selection process would usually take years, with political jockeying, bribes, and intrigue slowing down the selection, which would then need documented approval of the High Lords of Terra. Added by the time to arrange travel, and the traveling itself, it was not uncommon for relatively unmonitored sectors to have a decade in between Lord Admirals. (Vital sectors such as Cadia or Gothic had faster selection times, since even bean-counting bureaucrats and ambitious naval personnel were wary of leaving such sectors unattended and even more wary of attracting Inquisitional attention).

For weeks she and her retinue had shifted through dataslates to find the ideal replacement, until one of her newer retainers had hesitantly proposed the person she and Valorum had eventually agreed on.

_Let's hope you're really worth all my time, Demian Jole._ She thought gingerly, before picking up yet another dataslate.

* * *

Authors notes: And there it is, the first chapter to my first fanfic attempt. Wow, I feel giddy!

Anyway, before you ask, yes, the Shaleen Covenant is strongly based on the Halo's Covenant (As in an 80% carbon-copy clone of it). Not a total copy, mind you, but I doubt you could read through Valorum's letter without realizing the similarity. I decided not to put this story into the crossover section since I'm just using the Covenant as a minor variable. There are differences, and I promise to flesh them out more in the following chapters.

My thanks to Lord Vade for his excellent beta-reading and input.

Reviews and Comments are greatly appreciated, please do. I need the Input.


	2. Battle of Descartes City, Part 1

War was hell. And it was terrifying to the very core.

If there was one thing Tomas learned ever since the war had started, it was that. The molten balls of plasma that were crashing down upon the meager trenches was an all too tangible reminder that the hell war was could quickly become a literal one, in all senses of the word. The battered remains of ten Areili Planetary Defense Force (PDF) regiments had held off the xenos and the thrice-damned traitor forces for months upon the line of fortifications surrounding the mountainous proto-hive city of Descartes, but the xeno tech-heresy had pushed those lines to the limits.

"They're moving on Bunker Hill again!" a PDF trooper yelled. Even as he said it, dozens of luminous plasma balls and scores of shrieking missiles plunged into the already devastated trenches and bunkers, hammering the few loyalist forces that had managed to stay alive through the week-long brutal assaults. Bunker Hill was the last anchor the PDF line had, and although the bunkers and artillery pieces once situated there had all been ruined or vaporized, it still commanded the heights.

"Dammit! Fire on their flanks! Don't let them get to the trenches!" Sergeant Jacques barked, firing his autogun into the forms that surged forth from the enemy lines. As Tomas and the rest of his platoon hastened to obey, dull thumps could be heard as the griffons behind them fired their deadly mortars.

As the enemy force surged forward, their flanks were ravaged as the trenches on the sides of Bunker Hill fired everything they had. The main thrust though, was spearheaded by the bulbous Xeno APCs and traitor Sentinels. Desperate pockets of gunfire emerged from the pitifully few trenches of Bunker Hill that hadn't caved in, and a diminutive amount of mortar rounds exploded in the midst of the invaders, cutting down the unprotected traitor infantry around them. A lucky shot landed next to a sentinel – shredding it to pieces. But it wasn't nearly enough. The xeno APCs quickly crested the cratered slope of Bunker Hill along with its sentinel escorts, and as the sentinels raked the loyalist trenches with lascannon beams and heavy bolters, their front ramps crashed down and their infantry complements stormed out. The Lizard-like xeno led the charge, firing their triple barreled autoguns, and behind them their subordinates; the black hided Avians fired their serpentine lasguns, which discharged bright purple beams into the dwindling defenders. Then there were blood red lasbolts as the traitor infantry put their firepower into the already single-sided engagement.

Suddenly, the griffon behind Tomas exploded into a flaming wreck. Before he could register what was happening, Jacques' head exploded as a xeno lasgun found its mark. "Frack!" Tomas screamed. Around him, his fellow troopers hastily refocused their fire into the enemy trenches directly facing them.

"They're assaulting the entire line!" Zoe, his squad mate, yelled.

"Bugs in the sky! Shoot'em! Shoot'em!" Corporal Rince bellowed.

Tomas managed to get off a lucky head-shot, and one of the winged xeno plummeted from the air, but most of them managed to get through the uncoordinated spray of bullets, and brutal hand-to-hand combat erupted throughout the line as the PDF troopers frantically tried to club the xenos to death, with the few troopers who had the survival instinct to fix their bayonets going for the weak neck joint between the Xeno's body armor.

With the PDF distracted, the main bulk of the enemies quickly crossed no-man's land with only token resistance from the support trenches. The surviving Griffons, meanwhile, had been forced to retreat – their ammo coffers dry.

* * *

**2 Hours After the Fall of the Descartes Perimeter**

**Planetary Governor's Palace, Planet Ariel**

"Governor, the Descartes perimeter fortifications have been breached." Came the voice of General Santiago.

"C-can we re-establish it?" Governor Jarex was pleading as he talked into the voxcaster. Among the Governor's well-furnished bedroom, the military grade voxcaster looked decidedly out of place.

"Negative, governor. The remaining PDF there is exhausted, their artillery stocks are at rock bottom, and the militia is by no means able to conduct a counteroffensive. Even if we could regain the lines, the condition of the trenches are so bad the Covenant will just go right ahead and recapture it. General Fatima reports that she's sent her last reserves, along with commissar Halliman, to stabilize the rout."

"Alex... Descartes is our last foothold on the West-Agean Continent! If it falls morale here will plummet. We can't allow it to happen! You KNOW that!" Governor Manuel Jarex all but yelled. There were five continents in the world of Ariel. Only two, the East-Agean, and the island continent of Rodinea were still in Imperial hands. The mountainous peninsula Descartes was built on was the final vestige of land held by the Imperium on the East-Agean continent.

"I know that, Manuel, trust me, if there's anyone who knows that, it me. We've done everything we could to buy time for Fatima. Half of our surviving air forces were lost while they tried to drop supplies to Descartes. But all of us knew it was just a matter of time." Alex's voice sounded bitter. When the xeno landings happened, the continents of Columbi and Valbara fell within four months. It was only General Fatima's cunning tactics that slowed down the enemy advance long enough for re-enforcements to be scrambled from East-Agea.

The xenos had then transferred its forces from conquered Columbi and Valbara to West-Agea. Suddenly faced with overwhelming enemy numbers, General Fatima had been pushed back on all fronts. Rather than face being defeated in detail, she had quickly retreated to Descartes, whose high elevation and strong anti-aircraft defenses helped make up for her inferior artillery and diminishing air-support. She held out for months despite the relentless xeno onslaught, and more and more traitor and xeno elements had been diverted conquer the city.

Descartes had become a symbol of defiance among the Loyalists – the soldiers and militia holding it homegrown Heroes of the Imperium. Foremen and drill sergeants alike had urged their charges to live up to the example the "Defenders of Descartes" have shown, as the loyalist forces in West-Agea and Rodinea fervently trained and worked to strengthen their fortifications.

And now that symbol was going to betray them all.

"Sorry Alex… I was just, overwhelmed. That's all. You've done your best."

"It's all right Sir. We wouldn't have made it half this far if you hadn't put so much of the budget into the military. Not to mention all those military benefits and reservist expansion programs." General Santiago said soothingly. For all his faults, Alex Santiago got along well with Planetary Governor Manuel Jarex. He was also at least semi-competent in keeping the PDF functioning. He certainly wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed (that title was held by General Fatima), but he had demonstrated time and time again that what he lacked in direct military foresight he made up with his ability to make hard decisions when he needed to (a mixed blessing) and his knack for spotting people who had the talent and will to ensure those hard decisions were carried out successfully.

"So… now that the fortifications are breached, how long do you think the city will last?"

"I don't know, it depends on a lot of things."

"Give me an estimate, an overview if you like. Just give me something; this isn't going to turn into a massacre, right?"

"Fine, they have between a few days to about 3 months…4 if you stretch it. I reckon they'll hold for a month at least though, knowing the stunts Fatima can pull; especially now she's got those commissars and fire-brand priests in tow. The first thing is negating the momentum the Covenant has gained from the breakthrough; the faster they bog down the better. After the invaders lose momentum, street fighting is basically a meat-grinder. Whoever has more willingness and ability to feed the fire always wins. What few reports we got from Fatima and our insurgents point out that almost the entire might of the Covenant on Ariel is focused on Descartes. The only reason they haven't invaded Rodinea is because they diverted those regiments to the siege. They're obsessed on taking out Descartes, and with all the assets we shipped there, I'm not surprised." General Santiago mused. "Fatima would be a fool if she didn't prepare fallback positions, and Descartes is pretty much a city carved into the slopes of a mountain and its bordering hills. Elevation advantage would count for something, artillery or not…"

Silence reigned as Jarex digested the information.

"Sir?"

A sigh escaped his lips as he answered, "I guess I'll have to live with that assessment." Jarex paused, before asking "Anything else?"

"Yes, Magos Vadir finally gave me his analysis of the Shaleen Covenant's technology. Most of it is just guesswork and there isn't much hard data, but it does offer some insights."

"Ah, should I read it?"

"No, unless you want to go through a different dataslate for every vehicle, weapon, and piece of technology we've seen the Covenant field so far. Vadir even has a dataslate detailing and analyzing every modification they've outfitted those traitor vehicles. He even tried to find a correlation between the amount and type of xeno modifications a vehicle has and pinpoint how important the commander of said vehicle is. That cogboy sure is a piece of work."

"Makes you wonder what the hell he did to piss off his higher-ups to get assigned to a planet like this." Jarex laughed.

"I'm just glad he's here. Emperor knows without him the Battle of Raptor Plains would have been the end of Fatima, and he's made the cogboys burn with zealous fury by his findings on the Shaleen Covenant's tech-heresy. One second he's chattering binary on the planetary voxcasters like a malfunctioning servitor, the next second I get reports that cogboys everywhere were arming themselves and forcefully volunteering in the local recruiting posts." Santiago chuckled.

"Our saucepan production is going to be rock bottom for years if we survive this." Jarex laughed. He wondered why his mind had suddenly settled on saucepans out of all things.

"We still have enough cogboys to work in the war related munitoriums. Actually, I heard that some of the saucepan munitoriums are being converted to produce helmets."

"What!? How?"

"Vadir simply ordered some spherical tipped pounders to be installed somewhere in the production line, said those helmets would be earmarked for the militia."

"How will he deal with quality control?"

"By feedback."

The discussion dissolved into undignified sniggers for a few moments. Jarex regained his composure first, and patiently waited for the general to calm down.

"Heh, heh… aaah…" Silence. A clearing of the throat ensued. "So, basically Vadir has validated his theory that Covenant tech is definitely partially reversed engineered from Imperial technology with some hybridization with their original tech base. Their mobile plasma mortars have a chassis similar to a Lehman Russ, and the gun turrets of their tanks are comparable to our own. The only difference is that they have much more embellishment than we do."

"Yeah, I've seen those tanks…"

"Less efficient too, we like our tanks blocky, but the plate on the Lehman Russ are tilted to offer deflection protection. The Covenant make the plate of their tanks curved. Roughly the same amount of protection but nearly twice as hard to produce. Their tanks are mostly built for long range bombardment, maybe since they're harder to produce. The few normal tanks they have use similar cannons to our Lehman Russ, albeit modified to have a slightly higher range and rate of fire in exchange for a lower punch. Actually, they tend to use traitor vehicles for frontal, close-range assaults. One of their light APC's looks like someone took a chimera, made the armor lighter, and exchanged the tank tracks with tires. Despite that, there seem to be many vehicle designs that don't have any correspondence with imperial design at all. Vadir says he believes they're the designs the Covenant used before they started reverse engineering Imperium tech." Santiago paused, before finishing. "Well, there's a lot more to the analysis, but I doubt it'll make much sense to you. So that's it I guess."

"Right, good night general, and thanks for the update." As Santiago bade the Governor farewell, Jarex was already wondering what he would spend the now certain-to-be sleepless night on. His eyes drifted to the door. _Maybe to my study…no, that way leads to despair. I've watched that holovid enough times. To the Chapel then? Chaplain Sanguinor and his monks are keeping it open non-stop these days. But what would people think if the Planetary Governor stayed up all night praying? Would that be seen as weakness and desperation? I can't let that happen… I need to appear strong, not desperate. Oh God! Emperor what should I do? You've guided this unworthy and inept servant though his miserable life with such patience…despite his failures and blunders. Please…guide me once more, let me take comfort in your shining shadow. Let me and the people of Ariel live up to your example. Give us direction and strength…_

Almost subconsciously, Jarex turned to face the book of devotional litanies and hymns, one of the few books in his quarters. Getting down to his knees, he directed his prayers towards it as if it would connect him to the One who sat on the golden throne. After half an hour, he ran out of prayers; he took the book and started reading from it in a hushed voice. He did so for hours, until about an hour before he normally got up. Calling up his servants, he made sure they got him a strong cup of recaff for breakfast. After a bath and breakfast, he departed to the chapel.

* * *

**3 Hours After the fall of the Descartes Perimeter**

**Lower District, Descartes City, **

Tomas eagerly wolfed down a half a slice of hardtack, his first meal for the day. At least, he thought, his new captain had been decent enough to distribute some rations to the soldiers he'd commandeered. Out of his entire platoon, only Zoe was still with him. They had been separated from the rest of the platoon… not that there was much left anyway. Corporal Rince had been killed by lasbolts as the remains of the platoon had fled from the forward trenches. The support trenches had barely held for an hour before it too was overrun. Afterwards, it had been a chaotic retreat through the streets and rubble of the city as PDF troopers either ran for high ground or scrambled to get to the lower city anti-aircraft platforms, a designated strong point and fallback position. The biggest problem though, was that if the enemy managed to move their artillery deep enough into the lower city of Descartes they would demolish the platforms with ease, and afterwards any troops still trapped within the lower city would be in the mercy of the Covenant air force. The Covenant forward push needed to be stopped as soon as possible, and pushed back before they approached the platform perimeter. Of course, that was easier said than done.

He and Zoe were now at a main road intersection, huddling behind a series of hastily made barricades with about a score of other PDF troopers. About twelve meters in the overpass above him a heavy weapons team had set up set up a heavy bolter and kept sentry with the dozen troopers that were also stationed on the overpass. There was also about a squad of PDF troopers manning each of the buildings on the edges of the barricade, and about forty or so militia recruits scattered in the makeshift fortifications. Not that Tomas had much hope for them; the militia barely even had a crash course in reloading and he'd be surprised if any of them could hit a broad side of a barn from fifty meters. True, he was pretty green himself by PDF standards; but he'd survived the last seven months – that taught him a few things.

The report of gunfire grew ever closer, evidence that whatever disjointed resistance by the militia was being pushed back rapidly. When the dreaded whine of plasma cannons was heard, everyone tensed – Wormlords. The lumbering Xeno were monstrosities that defied logic and sanity. Armored with some form of gleaming power armor and equipped with the powerful tri-linked plasma rods and other potent weapons, a Wormlord was a force to be reckoned with. Worse, each Wormlord was actually an unholy entity made from hundreds of worms, somehow encased in the full suite of Xeno power armor. Everyone had heard of the tales of Wormlords rampaging though PDF formations during the fall of Valbara. Fearful murmurs broke out as people realized the barricades would offer little protection against plasma weaponry.

The captain, face pale, raised his voice. "Don't waver men… we've been ordered by Fatimah to hold this line until relieved. Behind these barricades is a path straight to the platforms, the Covenant must not pass." His shaky voice faltered, he compensated by yelling out his next words. "Right this minute, old Halliman himself is coming to our aid! Hold fast men, for the Emperor is with us! Remember the words of the priests! We are blessed by his light, for our cause is true! We are his servants; we are the shield of the people of Ariel! Descartes shall NOT fall! For Ariel! For the Emperor!"

"For Ariel! For the Emperor!" Tomas and everyone else yelled. Though it was still present, terror no longer held sway. In some it had been replaced with defiance, in others by a sad acceptance of their fate. As everyone else grimly prepared for the coming storm Tomas clutched his autogun; it wasn't a standard issue one. The autoguns that the government issued were made of steel, be it barrel, stock, or scope; Near exact replicas of the lasguns issued to the non-reservist regiments. His was different, it was an old hunting rifle, long steel barrel, wooden stock – his great-grandpa's pride and joy, Tomas had often been told. At first he used it since there wasn't any alternative, but by the time he was finally offered a standard issue autogun he had already grown comfortable with it. There were eight scratches on the wooden stock, one was an "X", three were crosses, and the rest were horizontal slashes, with the exception of a single vertical one. He gazed at the scratches for a long moment, his face expressionless. Then, almost absentmindedly, he scratched another cross, before adding a vertical slash with a deliberate flick of his hand. As he looked at the new additions to his autogun stock a faint, uncertain smile formed.

_If I keep this up, I might just have more kills than Tenny or Pedro. I wonder what I'd make them do… go job hunting for me? Or maybe wash my laundry until we graduate. Yeah, that works. Next time we meet up again Tenny's gonna be the one who buys the snacks, and Pedro would be in charge of cleaning up, and I'd be the one bumming for once._

* * *

**Command Bunker, Upper City District, Descartes City, Same Time**

The bunker that General Fabiana Fatimah used had at first been intended as a strategic back-up for the Planetary Defense Command if the capital city of Areil Prime ever fell into enemy hands, and for good reason. It was situated beneath the Tower of Descart, which was itself hewn on the very summit of the long dead volcano. Built ages past, the reason of its construction had long since been lost. Perhaps, some historians mused, that the Munitorium would have a record of it somewhere.

Anyone with half a skull (or more) agreed that the record may as well be in the Eye of Terror.

Searching for the records in Ariel was also a moot point, for Ariel had once regressed to a feral world for nearly five millennia before an imperial recolonization program began. Now, fifteen hundred years later, the Tower of Descart was one of the few surviving structures that had been built before the "Reconstruction", as the people of Ariel had called the recolonization of the once feral world. Many even went so far as to claim it was built during the dark age of technology. Others claimed it was the work of a mad despot that wanted to be god. One thing was sure though, the tower had been around for a very long time indeed, and had been renovated and added to as the ages went past. During the period after the Reconstruction the tower had first served as a watchtower to help fend of the barbarians that had raided Descartes many times, and then it had been changed into the Astropath's Tower once the barbarians had been bought back into the fold. When the capital city moved to the West-Agean continent, the tower was altered into a local tourist attraction.

When Planetary Governor Jarex started to fortify Ariel, an underground bunker was built under the tower's foundations. Finally, when the threat of invasion became imminent, the Tower was transformed into a defense tower bristling with Macro-cannons and anti-aircraft turrets. The bunker itself was strengthened and expanded. Apart from its five feet thick concrete walls, it was also protected by the adamantium foundation of Descart Tower, as well as the walls of the tower itself, and the solid rock of the mountain. All said, it was one of the safest places in the world, and was quite comfortable too, as bunkers went. It had a spacious central room with four bedrooms which had enough bunk beds to house 20 people. There was a kitchen, a cellar, an armory, a mess hall, and two multipurpose rooms. It was even graced by the presence of excellent in-door plumbing facilities, semi-functional air-conditioning, and power generators that were only a century old. In short, the best Ariel's coffers could buy.

Sadly, to Fatimah's infinite sorrow, whoever designed the bunker had forgotten about one very crucial detail: he had forgotten to install vox cables and amplifiers. As such, a few tech priests had to jury rig an amplifier, which acted like an annoying elder that would spend his time dozing off when he was needed, and suffer a heart attack when anyone tried to shake him awake. In times like those, which were all too often, the only place where the quality of incoming vox calls was consistent and clear was one of the worse places possible for the survival of Fatimah's dignity: a toilet stall, in the male's bathroom.

True, when the discovery was made by the tech priests who had probed the bunker twice over by frantically waving around dubious looking metal bowls with an antenna in the center, one of her subordinates had the bright idea to make the toilet seat more "proper". Thus, with wood, metal plates, and paint, a so called throne was quickly built around the toilet seat. The result was rather comical, it looked like someone had taken a square box and a taller rectangle one, put them next to each other, and covered it with metal plates, with wood added on as a cushions. The paint job was a mix of white, gold, and blue. Apparently, the person who painted it had tried to make it majestic and regal while still somehow blending in with bland pale white that the rest of the restroom had.

Of course, like many indecisive compromises, the paint job failed spectacularly on both objectives.

When she had first seen it, Fatimah didn't know whether she should laugh or cry. Halliman had flatly suggested an execution. She swore she heard a whisper of amusement in his voice.

Even now, as she commanded the defense of Descartes from what was ultimately an uplifted chamber pot, her mind still wasn't sure if it was to view her "Command Throne" as a compliment or an insult.

"Yes colonel, I need the 8th to form up on the right flank of the platform" She said, eyeing the map of Descartes, which one of her lieutenants had helpfully glued to the door of the stall.

"There are already elements of the 3rd and 7th in the vicinity, as well as militia personnel. We need to make sure that no Covenant elements could flank the platform." She continued. "There doesn't seem to be a heavy Covenant presence in the area, other than some traitor forces and Covenant infantry. So long as your forces are dug in I doubt there would be much trouble."

"Arbites support? No, they are already tied down at the platforms. Hold fast colonel, for the Emperor." With that, she turned the vox unit off, handed it to one of her aides, and stalked out of the bathroom. At the central room, which had become the command room, the scene was no less chaotic. Tables and chairs were strewn around the room, and as a plethora of PDF officers and other dignitaries attended to one duty or another, the smell of sweat, oil, and coffee were all too pungent, with the air conditioning barely even keeping the temperature down. At the center of the room was a round table, with the map of Descartes with scattering of icons and pins to denote one thing or another.

As people realized she had entered the room her presence was acknowledged by hasty salutes, or in the case of the mechanicus and arbites, small nods. She spotted a few of her staff that were using voxcasters.

"I see the tech priests managed to perform yet another miracle of mechanical CPR." She said, to no one in particular.

Perhaps feeling that she had addressed him, the red cloaked Mechanicus representative shrugged in exasperation, his green orbs giving the jury-rigged amplifier a glare of utter hatred, as if its very presence was humiliation to the Omnissiah himself. "We have once more sanctified the machine spirit. Holy oil has been applied as well as new circuitry for its power packs. I personally recited the required litanies of devotion, and my subordinate," He pointed at the tech-priest prostrating himself in front of the amplifier, "shall recite the Supplication of Functionality to the machine spirit every five minutes." The report, given in a mechanical monotone, somehow managed to convey the frustration of the Magus.

"Well, at least we all don't have to share a single voxcaster for now." Fatimah said, sighing "Lieutenant Tredian, the 8th is taking position at the right flank of the lower city anti-aircraft platforms. Update their position on the map." As the scrawny lad hastened to obey, Fatimah asked for a status report from the other officers.

"Most of the routed regiments are starting to regroup at the fallback positions, but they are highly disorganized. Almost everyone is in a designated fallback position, but almost no one is in their _designated_ fallback position. The platform has been flooded by elements of almost every regiment, while the flanks and vanguard positions are barely at half-strength. The few officers that managed to get their units to their designated positions have been forced to gang-press any soldiers that pass by since the units they were to hold their position with never made it." Lieutenant Samina said. She was sitting in a veritable pile of dataslates, keeping track of the logistics of the entire joint Descartes defense effort.

"More chaos… how about the militia screen?" Said Fatimah, her face forming into grimace as she surveyed the strategic map. The lower city, where the fighting was now centered had been the location of the majority of the residential area of Descartes. Filled with towering skyscrapers, block after block of dull, grey apartments as well as the haphazard sprawl of slum housing, the lower city was an ideal place to frustrate the Covenant advance. In fact, if the correct circumstances were fulfilled, Descartes would be a nightmare battlefield for the Covenant.

The word "if" was what irritated Fatimah the most. She direly needed to make sure that the heavy vehicles of the covenant were destroyed, especially their plasma mortars, and the anti-aircraft weapons positioned on the platform be towed away before the Covenant overran it.

"The militia are having no trouble holding the area in front of the left flank so far, they report traitor elements, but little else. The screen of the right flank is being gnawed on by both Covenant and traitor forces, but is holding for now, while the screen on the vanguard has almost been eliminated. So far, with the exception of a few chimeras, we've only seen traitor and Covenant infantry." Another lieutenant reported.

Fatimah frowned as she studied the map. The left flank was manned by the badly mauled 2nd and 14rd Arieli infantry regiments. Their personnel tag put them at 40% readiness. Fatimah hoped that most of the missing companies had fled to other fallback positions, and not slaughtered in the trenches. The right flank was also in a similar condition, with the 3rd and 7th reporting huge amounts of personnel unaccounted for. At least, the 8th regiment was moving in to reinforce their positions.

The platform though, was in a totally different condition. Though only three regiments had been assigned to fall back to that area, company markers from almost every single regiment were pinned to it. Also pinned were the anti-aircraft batteries, and too Fatimah's relief, a pin identifying arbites suppression and riot squads. There was also the brown tag that represented the commissariat, no doubt commissar Halliman.

Well… there wasn't any chance they those lost units could be put into the correct position in time, not without risking them being caught off guard if the covenant launched their assault, which would be soon if the Covenant wanted to preserve their momentum. So it would be better for them to be integrated into the platform defense force.

Fatimah clenched her fist. _Damn… I was hoping I'd have enough time to withdraw more heavy equipment before the perimeter line fell._ It had been apparent to Fatimah that the Descartes perimeter fortifications wouldn't hold for much longer, but the fury of the Covenant assault during the last few days had made withdrawing anything substantial nigh impossible. _Halliman and the Arbites would beat and blam order into the forces at the platform in no time. But after that, what should I order? The only logical choice is to send them to the vanguard positions before they crack like a spoiled egg. That won't be enough though… I need to take out a good chunk of their heavy infantry and their artillery, hit them hard enough without losing too much in the process._

Something pulsed in the back of her head, as if there was something she was missing. She looked again at the map, reanalyzing it. Nothing. She did it again. Then she realized that although the majority of the anti-aircraft equipment were stationary objects (and thus required towing), there were two squads of hydras currently attached to it. The hydra was a variant of the chimera designed for anti-aircraft combat.

Slowly, a plan started to form in her mind. But she needed bait. Good bait. "Lieutenant Samina, please list all the mechanized forces that are either currently deployed or close enough to the battlefield to be deployed within the hour, PDF or otherwise. Divide them by their location, Left flank, right flank, center, and other" She ordered.

The pale skinned lieutenant looked up from her pile of logistical reports and gulped. She stood up and looked at the map, her eyes darting from one tag to another. After a long moment she spoke: "a squadron of scout sentinels, and thirteen chimeras from the left flank, primarily derived from the Infantry regiments. The left flank has a substantially higher amount of mechanized units, since the 7th is a mechanized infantry regiment and the eighth is a siege regiment. Totaled, there are fifty chimeras, two squadrons of scout sentinels and a squadron of battle sentinels. This is augmented by the presence of a total of fifteen griffons, and twenty medusas from the eighth, whose ammunition stocks are at fifty percent. Also included are about fifteen trucks and half-tracks that help tow extra artillery ammunition. The center includes nearly eighty chimeras, three squadrons of scout sentinels, two squadrons of battle sentinels, two squads of hydras, and eight lehman russ, mostly derived from the mechanized and light armored regiments.

"As for others, there are twenty chimeras used by the arbites, located at their headquarters in the middle city, as well as the twelve lehman russ tanks and a score of basilisks that you put in strategic reserve. There are other mechanized forces, but apart from those I stated they are either too far away, such as the armored cars of the noble house Agio, or unaccounted for, like the majority of the 15th siege regiment." Samina finished, sounding as she had simply read all the information off a dataslate.

In fact, the reality was very similar to that. Samina had been a menial in the Mechanicus munitoriums before she had enlisted into the PDF. Which she did after hearing Vadir's speech about the tech-heresy the Covenant were wielding. As a menial, Samina had conducted tasks too complicated for servitors but too redundant and boring for the tech-priests and engineseers. Namely, sorting out which dataslate went to whom. A crucial task, especially since the Mechanicus munitoriums on Ariel had to work with many offices to ensure their own smooth efficiency, which included the Imperial Navy, the Departmento Munitorium, the planetary government, and many other agencies, each with their own bureaucracy. To help facilitate her job, the adepts of the Mechanicus had replaced a fourth of her brain with data-wafers. This allowed her to totally memorize the thousands of dataslate forms and types that her job made her meet. Now it allowed her to memorize how the logistics and personnel strength of the PDF down to platoon level. An invaluable ability indeed.

Now, as Fatimah digested this information, she finally managed to piece a plan together. A predatory grin blossomed on her face as she took one last look at the left flank. "Lietenant Tredian, contact the 8th and ask them how much explosives they still have." She turned to the Arbites representative. "Investigator Saul, the PDF will soon launch a counter-attack, but we need arbites support."

_Now, _Fatimah thought, _we might just survive long enough to put my little pipe dream into action._ With that happy hope in mind, she explained her plans to the people in the bunker.

More than one brow was raised as she did so.

* * *

Authors notes: And that's the first chapter! Hope you enjoyed it.

Future chapters would be between 2000 to 5000 words. Following updates would be once every two weeks at best.

Oh and in case you didn't know:

Medusa: Chimera Chassis, with a heavy Howitzer on top.

Griffon: Chimera Variant, with a heavy mortar.


	3. Battle of Descartes City, Part 2

The city of Descartes was not only the biggest city in the continent of East-Agea; it was the second biggest city in the planet Ariel. In fact, it had been the seat of the planetary government for many centuries since it was one of the most defensible and strategically important positions in Ariel. The only reason the capital was moved away was because the difficult terrain of Descartes City (to be exact, the lack of land) made it hard for Descartes to grow. When space to build around Descartes was exhausted, the planetary government simply picked up and left, settling in a pleasant river valley in the continent of West-Agea.

Despite no longer being the capital city, Descartes continued to be prominent, as the Adeptus Arbites, and many other institutions related to the Adeptus Terra maintained a sizable presence there. For the Arbites, it was a foregone conclusion. Descartes was still the home of many of the people and institutions the Arbites wanted to keep an eye on. It was also the location of one of Ariel's most crucial exports: Autoguns, autogun ammunition, and bayonets. Although the Imperial Guard did not issue autoguns, it was a popular non-regulation armament, and other planetary governments also bought it for their own PDF. As such, being in Descartes meant that the Adeptus Arbites could keep tabs on the arms dealing, and on the noble houses and companies doing it.

Then there was the fact that the Arbites was simply _comfortable_ in Descartes. It was a city built into an artificial mountain peninsula. Mount Descart used to be an island mountain not far from the coast until an ambitious terraforming project had enlarged the coast until it hooked up with the east coast of the island. As the project was done before the Reconstruction of Ariel, no one knew who exactly did the project. However, it was not hard to guess why it was built. The city was, in modern terms, a cul-de-sac. There was only one side of the city that was accessible from land, the east side. All the other sides had to be approached by sea, and in modern times, what kind of invading force would actually have a "wet" navy?

Even the land approach was a tough one; an invading army would first have to break through the ring of hills that made up the original coastline. Then they would have to battle through all 50 kilometers of the artificial peninsula. Another point to make is that the peninsula narrowed out as it approached the island, from 30 kilometers in the beginning to eight by the time it linked up to the island. As such, any defender would not only be fighting closer and closer to their base of supply and command, their defensive perimeter would also shrink, making the opposition the invaders would face tougher.

When they finally made it past the artificial part of the peninsula, they would arrive at tip of the peninsula, the former island, which had been turned into a deep-water port. By then even small arms fire would pepper down from the looming Descart Mountain. Taking the deep-water port of Descartes city was hard enough before Planetary Governor Jarex had militarized the mountain. Now it had a veritable string of trenches, pillboxes, and weapons emplacements, not to mention Descart Tower and its macrocannons. Afterwards came the cleansing of the realm of the Adeptus Mechancus, numerous munitorium complexes inside the mountain itself, placed in vast, multi-layered caverns carved into the mountain in forgotten ages long ago. Only then could they start the conquest of the summit.

For the Adeptus Arbites, Descartes was a utopia. It could be defended by a small amount of men, it was a textbook example of a bottleneck, it had high ground, and it had the ability to manufacture small arms and ammunition. To add to it all, it was a trade hub for the East and West Agean continents, and it was still close enough to the new capital for the Arbites to react should the planetary government ever become overambitious. Thus, since the Arbites viewed Descartes as the shield of Imperial authority, it put great effort in keeping order in the city, to the point where it actually meddled in the local law enforcement of Descartes.

To help enforcement and defense planning, the Arbites had divided Descartes into four districts. First was the original coastline and the artificial peninsula, which was dubbed the "lower district". Then there was the area of the former Island and the port, named the "island district". The Mechanicus controlled caverns were labeled as the "inner district". While the slope and summit of the mountain was called the "upper district".

So far, the fighting had only reached the lower city. After breaking through the Descartes perimeter, the Covenant commander (Or the Armsmaster, as the Covenant called it) had been wary of allowing a blind and disorganized pursuit by his forces, especially since a defensive strong point was still present. So he had quickly called to an end of the pursuit as he reorganized his forces. His plan was a modest one: focus as many heavy infantry and armor elements in the center before destroying the PDF vanguard positions. Next he would move in his artillery and vaporize the platform, which would be followed up by an all-out assault on all fronts. Without the platform denying him his air support, he could roll up the opposition all the way to the island city.

A solid, simple, and efficient plan. Based on the logic that any sane commander would realize that the vanguard positions would be the key to the lower city, forcing them to either commit to the fight, or retreat as quickly as possible before the Covenant bombers decimated them. Either way, it was a winning situation in the eyes of the Elite. He knew he would have the advantage in a toe-to-toe fight. If the PDF retreated, he would be spared a bloody fight and the ebbing morale of his troops would no longer be a problem. If the PDF tried to hang on after they lost the platform, the exchange rate would greatly favor him, and he would ultimately face less enemies when he assaulted the island district.

Sadly, as his assault on the vanguard positions started, it became apparent that he forgot to account for the propensity of eccentric and non-linear thinking of a certain PDF General.

**Lower District Vanguard Positions**

Tomas briefly peeked over the rubble, and ducked back down when a traitor started to fire at him. He waited until the lasbolts stopped impacting his general location before popping back up and firing a quick shot at the traitor. He missed, and since his autogun was a bolt-action model, he did the smart thing and ducked back down before the traitor returned fire. As he pulled the loader level to load his next bullet, he sighed. This strategy just wasn't working. He'd been trading pot-shots at that traitor for the last four minutes, and while his autogun had the accuracy that the enemy's lasgun lacked, he never got enough time to aim properly before a hail of lasbolts forced him to duck back down. Opting for a change of tactics, he crawled a few meters to the left before popping back up.

He quickly drew a bead on his opponent's previous position, and the traitor hadn't changed his position. Through the scope of his gun, he saw the traitor adjust his aim. Luckily, the slight change of position gave him the upper hand. He pulled the trigger, and the sharp report rang out as the autogun discharged. A split second later, the round impacted the traitor's shoulder, knocking him to his feet. Not a confirmed kill, but then again Tomas was sure that shot had penetrated the flak armor of the traitor. Tomas smiled, mentally adding "Shift position every now-and-then" into the list of conscious lessons he had learned.

Around him, his fellow loyalists were also trading potshots with one opponent or another, though he noticed that some had lost interest and were hunkering down behind cover, playing it safe. Things had heated up twenty minutes ago, when the last remnants of the militia screen had been pushed back by Covenant forces, but things had quickly cooled down after the leading traitor sentinels had been knocked out by the heavy bolter. Now, the closest enemy was less than forty meters away, but they seemed content to simply trade fire (and occasional cat-call) with the PDF and militia.

At least the apparent cautiousness of the Covenant had allowed the captain to "volunteer" more defenders into the fortifications. The three layers of barricades now had a more than a hundred men manning it, and the overpass nearly had the equivalent of two platoons, about forty soldiers.

Going with the general flow, Tomas scooted to part of the rubble-turned-barricade that was smooth enough to lean back on.

"How much ammo dya have left?" It took a moment before he realized that he was the one being addressed.

"Hey, Tom! How much ammo do you have left?" Zoe repeated, as she crawled to his position.

"Uh, let me check…" He did a quick count on his ammo and was dismayed by the results. Only three mags left, including the bullets in the mag inserted right now… a grand total of 21 shots left.

"Not much, to be honest." He answered a frown of worry creasing his face.

"Told ya that having a non-regulation autogun would come back to bite you one day." Zoe said, hunkering down next to him. "And you'd think that a guy with a non-reg autogun would actually pay attention to how much non-reg ammunition for that gun he still has." She finished, raising her chin in mock condensation.

"Look, I had a supplier Zoe!" Tomas said, his hand making a gesture of exasperation. "He had a shop at the port district. Normally, I'd stock up every time we were rotated out of the perimeter fortifications, but with the assault and everything, we haven't been rotated out for the last month!"

"Yeah, so yer out of ammo since our leave has been overdue by a week. Excellent forward planning, city boy."

At this Tomas was slightly embarrassed. Then, he remembered that if Zoe decided to tease him about a problem, chances were she had some advice in store. He gave her a hopeful look.

"So, do you think I should get another weapon?" He asked.

Her smile grew larger. "Already did it for ya, rookie." She tossed a laspistol to him. "If you don't have a regulation weapon, at least get yourself a standard sidearm."

"Heh, thanks Zoe. I'm glad we're in this mess together." He said sincerely. "How's your ammo condition? You've been blasting away constantly since they did that last rush on Bunker Hill."

"Don't worry Tom, I've been scavenging a few things up. I've got enough ammo to last. Actually, I got that laspistol of yours from the same guy I got my ammo clips from – a corporal. From the look on his face, he didn't need it anymore." She let out a small laugh. Tomas averted his gaze.

A somewhat awkward silence followed. "So, do you think those Wormlords are going to show up? Maybe they're going to hit another part of the line." A desperate and distasteful topic to fill the gap, Tomas knew, but he'd be damned if he'd let his soft upbringing get the better of him again. Especially since this was the most talkative Zoe had been for a quite a while.

Surprisingly, Zoe actually gave it some thought, "Well, I pray to the God-Emperor that that's the case, but really, this intersection is huge. It'll be targeted for sure." She gave him a rather forceful nudge "Besides, they're bound to barrel through here now that you've jinxed it."

"In my defense, the captain jinxed it first. In fact, he made an entire speech about them."

"No you stupid idiot, his speech, if you could call it that, made us prepare for the worst, that doesn't jinx. You were hoping fer the best, _out loud_, that has jinx trigger all over it." She declared.

"Was that philosophy that just came out of your mouth? I'm surprised!" Tomas teased, happy that they've finally settled into routine banter. He got another hard nudge to his sides.

"Shut up, this is all Emiliano's fault. The gall of that man! How dare he'd tell a _lady_ like me how _vulgar_ my language was!" She ranted.

"_Gall_? Did that word just come out of your mouth? I'm s-_Urgh!"_ This time Zoe's retaliation could be described as a jab, instead of just a nudge.

"Dammit! First he lectures me about fancy dead people, n' how I should talk and act like em." She said, her diction quality fluctuating wildly. "Then, just as I'm getting good at it, he disappears! "

"He was transferred to the engineering corps. They finally found out that he used to work in the old librariums."

"Well, when I meet him again, I'm gonna force him to tell me the rest of the story about the lost regiments series! He was just getting to the good part on the 79th Mordians!"

"You know, I half suspect the only reason you put up with him was so you could press him to tell you those outrageous stories."

"Look, I need to get my entertainment somewhere, and Emil swore they were based on true events."

"I doubt it; I mean seriously, a planet named 'Chipta Sayng'? The entire reason the Mordians got stuck there could be summed up as 'The Warp Happened'. At least the story about the Praetorians in Archos was believable." Tomas shot back, ignoring the fact he also got that story from Emil.

"Those Praetorians got totally wiped out! The Srivij Kingdom had fought off the orks for _centuries_ with nothing but swords n' bows before the Mordians arrived." She said, citing her favorite Chiptan kingdom.

"Orks are fat, slow, and dumb xenos. Everyone knows that! I wouldn't be surprised if a single slash to the belly would make him burst like the green watermelon he is. At least the kroot are agile"

"Look, rookie," Zoe tried to regain the initiative "Last stands are all good and epic, but can't you realize that almost every story about the Praetorians have something to do with a last stand?! On the other hand, those Mordians saved an entire _lost world_, which are now the source of one the best ork killers in Segmentum Tempestus!"

"How do you even know the Mordians won!? Emil hadn't even fini-"

"Incoming!" The cry cut through the air, followed on its heels by the sound of gunfire and detonations .

Zoe took a quick at the other side of the intersection and swore. "APCs, sentinels, and chimeras."

"Bugger."

Then the high-pitched whines of charging plasma rods were heard.

"Frak!"

**Command Bunker, Upper City District, Descartes City, Moments Later**

"The Covenant have started their assault on the vanguard positions! Heavy infantry and vehicle elements reported!" Lieutenant Tredian shouted.

"Good, inform the left flank to start their offensive!" Fatimah then picked up a voxcaster "Len, tell Halliman to move out _now_!"

She put down the voxcaster. _Let's see if this if this works._

**Lower District Vanguard Positions, Same Time**

Within seconds, the intersection became the ground of an intense firefight. Behind the cover of vehicles and the wormlords, traitor and xeno infantry moved forward. Meanwhile, the hard pressed defenders fought with everything they had, screaming insults and litanies as they fired.

Advancing in echelon formation, the three traitor sentinels fired their armaments. Heavy bolter and multilaser fire impacted the forward barricades. The heavy weapons team on the overpass returned fire, and heavy bolter rounds crashed into the forward sentinel. Then the loader was shot by an avian sharpshooter, and as her dead body slumped on the heavy bolter, its barrel to swerved to the left. As the barrel wildly swerved to the left so did its firing arc, and a bolter round miraculously passed through the viewport of the left traitor sentinel. The round exploded, turning the contents of the battle sentinel into a soup of gore, bone, and brains. The sentinel collapsed to the ground. The forward one, pockmarked and limping, grimly marched forward, firing into the militia held buildings to the flanks of the intersection barricades, while the last untouched sentinel fired at the overpass. Behind them, four covenant APCs fired their armaments at the barricades.

The defenders of Descartes fought back. The odds were arrayed against them, but they knew what was at stake.

Even as his fellows fell around him, a PDF trooper primed a frag grenade and threw it one of the Xeno APCs. The explosion killed the turret gunner. An Elite and his platoon of avians were torn to shreds by a volley from the overpass. Then, having pushed aside the corpse of the loader, the heavy weapons team opened fire once more. It finished the off the crippled traitor sentinel before shifting fire to pummel the rearmost APC.

Just as the heavy bolter rounds pierced the APC armor a plasma pulse vaporized the heavy bolter, silencing it for good. The three wormlords had allowed the vehicles to charge ahead, and now having identified the point of most resistance, leveled their tri-linked plasma rods at the overpass. A volley of plasma cut through the concrete overpass and its defenders like a red-hot cleaver through butter.

"Volley on the wormlords! Volley on the wormlords!" The voice of the captain was barely heard above the din of battle. Then the NCO's echoed his words, spreading it along the lines.

Then Tomas heard the command, "All ranks cease fire!" Tomas pulled down a militiaman who was too absorbed with the battle back under cover.

Now, only the overpass survivors continued fire, since they were under the autonomous command of a lieutenant. The Covenant forces, confused by the sudden slackening of loyalist fire but emboldened by the display of the wormlords abandoned caution—they recklessly charged at the now silent barricades.

"Targets of opportunity!" Came the near-shrieking voice of the captain "First and second ranks rise!"

Tomas stood up, exposing his upper body to fire; his fists paling from clenching his autogun. Beside him, Zoe and the militiaman stood too. Zoe's eyes were a piercing glare of defiance.

"Aim!"

Tomas shifted to a firing stance, the crosshairs of his scope focusing on the face of dumbfounded avian, less than 25 meters away. The militiaman raised his autopistol with a shaking hand.

Dawning awareness caused some Covenant to shift their aim from the overpass to the barricades, but there was not enough time for the heavy weapons to do likewise.

"FIRE!"

Tomas pulled the trigger.

The back of the Avian's head exploded, even as its body recoiled from the impact of three lasbolts.

Traitor and xeno alike died. Some corpses were thrown back by the sheer amount of impacts, while others slumped to the ground.

"Third rank, rise!"

As the PDF troopers and militia in the barricades behind him rose, Tomas took cover once more and struggled to insert his last magazine into his autogun.

"Aim!"

Shocked out of complacency the covenant forces belatedly started firing at the third rank.

A few of the defenders were hit.

Enough survived.

"FIRE!"

An invisible hand swept through the center of the intersection. In retaliation, the heavy weapons on the three APCs and single surviving traitor sentinel lashed out at the third rank, killing more than a dozen before the third rank ducked back down under cover.

"First rank, cover fire! Independent fire at will!"

The brutalized first rank went back into business. Their NCO's directing them to fire at the APC turret gunners.

Up in the overpass, less than a ten still lived, some of them wounded and dying. The lieutenant, half blinded, left hand gone, and his upper body lacerated, tapped the belt of PDF trooper holding him. The trooper looked at the object that was tapped before looking back at the lieutenant, a glint of grim determination in his eyes.

The lieutenant gave a pained smile, his mouth forming his last words. The trooper nodded. Amidst the lasbolts and bullet impacts, he laid the broken body to rest. He glanced across the smoking and sizzling concrete. The troopers on the other side of the hole looked at him questioningly.

He shook his head, before tapping an object on his belt, mouthing it. The others understood as well. They reached for the grenades of their dead and dying comrades.

"Second and Third ranks on the center wormlord! Rise!"

As he rested his autogun on the scarred barricades, Tomas realized that panic was spreading in the Covenant troops. Recognizing futility, some of the Covenant hugged the pavement, hoping that the fusillade would roll past them.

Grenades were hurled desperately by the troopers in the overpass. They landed in the center of the APC column. None were anti-armor frak grenades, but the APCs broke formation nonetheless.

"Aim!"

There was now an unobstructed view of the wormlords. They opened fired first, and three gaping holes were torn open in the first line of barricades. Agonized screaming erupted as defenders too close to the blast zone felt their skin scab and their flesh boil.

"FIRE!"

A ragged volley erupted from the ranks. A total lasbolts and bullets sallied towards the wormlord, but a bright luminescent light engulfed the wormlord mere centimeters away from his power armor.

The bullets ricocheted, the lasbolts were absorbed. The shielding turned into an intense violet as it took the brunt of the combined volley.

Tomas pulled the loader barrel of his autogun, ejecting the spent shell.

"FIRE!"

Another volley pounded the shields. The intense glow did not waver.

The wormlord made a hand gesture. Behind him, the other two wormlords aimed at the edges of the overpass. His three plasma rods were concurrently building up into overload charge, their whines edging into a chilling, unified screech.

The surviving traitor sentinel raked the edge of the second rank, massacring a fourth of their number.

"FIRE!" The voice was not the captain's.

More men fell even as the volley lashed out. Now the lines were faltering as the APCs and the sentinel brought their full firepower to bear.

The glow intensified; a telltale sign of weakening. Tomas felt his hope rise.

Then the wormlord fired. The three overcharged plasma rods fired in unison, forming a plasma pulse five times more powerful than a normal discharge. It screamed through the barricades, _all of them_, and the carnage it wrought was terrifying.

The entire center of the first rank was simply gone, and the rubble on the edges were melting and burning at the same time. The pillar supporting the overpass was gone as well. The second and third ranks were not much better off.

Tomas, at the right edge of the second rank, heard the air crackling and felt his skin blistering. The militiaman was covering his left eye with a red skinned hand, moaning.

The other two wormlords fired on the overpass edges. As the plasma pulses separated the overpass from the buildings holding it up, it fell down, crashing into the first line of barricades, throwing up dust as it did so.

Tomas struggled to see through the obscuring dust. Around him was a panorama of confusion and agony… hauntingly nostalgic. Garrida City… He remembered the wailing sirens, the scramble to the outpost under a rain of glistening death, contrasted by the calm and authoritative voice from the public alert announcements.

"Please evacuate to your nearest defense bunkers in an orderly fashion. This is not a drill. I repeat, this is not a drill. Public disturbances will not be tolerated." He choked out. He recalled how… _idiotic_ it felt to hear that even as the covenant aeronotica dive-bombed the refugee groups and xeno infantry seemingly popped into existence from every corner. Then the city power grid had been knocked out, and the automated announcement had ceased. By the God-Emperor, how he had yearned for that voice to return.

Even if it was distant, uncaring, and automated, but that voice had given Tomas a goal to aspire to, hope, and without it he was completely lost… Thank the Emperor that he met Emiliano.

Now, as the sound of a battle cry rose behind the ruins of the collapsed overpass, he found himself once more wishing for guidance. A shadowy figure rose above the ruins and a red lasbolt stabbed into the barricade. _Traitor_… Tomas thought.

From somewhere inside him, his instinct decisively chose fight over flight. He fired at the figure and it dropped. _Five rounds left…_ but it did not matter to him. As more and more figures reached the top of the barricade, he realigned his scope. He fired again, and as the figure fell forward, he ejected the casing. His next target swayed when hit, but stayed on its feet, probably an elite.

Then he felt a hand pull him down. It was Zoe. She looked unharmed, and she was pointing at a smoking hole on the edge of the barricade. _Since when did that get there?_

"Get inside that hole, Tom! We're gonna get ripped to shreds if we stay here!" She shouted.

"B-but our orders-" He stammered.

"Are impossible to carry out." She finished for him. "Nothing we have can stop those vehicles and wormlords. We need to get out of here before we get cut off!"

He opened his mouth to protest but she silenced him, "Rookie! Stop thinking and get in the damn hole!" He was shoved bodily toward the hole. He glanced at the hole and saw a person run into it. He started scrambling towards it like a drowning person who just realized there was a raft nearby. Zoe's voice followed behind him, urging him forward.

Within moments he had entered the building. It looked like a restaurant kitchen, and the melted ovens indicated that it was a plasma pulse that had caused the hole. From the other side of the kitchen a door was kicked down. A blood drenched traitor emerged, but was quickly cut down by full burst from Zoe's autogun. She pointed at the door in the back of the kitchen. "That way!"

Before he knew it he was past the door. It opened up to a red-bricked hallway. Tomas and Zoe followed it, all the while the sound of fighting and firing chasing them like wildfire. After three turns and numerous rooms, the hall ended with a doorframe. The wooden door had been kicked off its hinges, perhaps by another fleeing defender.

Exiting the building the two of them found themselves at a cramped, dark alleyway. The black pavement and leaking pipes offered a road to salvation. They both ran down their presumed avenue of escape.

**Command Bunker, Upper City District, Descartes City, Same Time**

"All major defense positions have been overrun! The vanguard has disintegrated. A few minor defensive positions are holding out, but they won't last for long." Lieutenant Tredian reported.

Fatimah looked at the map as it was updated to comply with the new reality. All the intersections and main roads have been taken. As she had predicted, the vanguard positions were hopeless without reinforcement. The first wave had steamrolled through it.

"How is the assault on the left flank going?" She asked.

"It is progressing rapidly. Covenant forces were taken by complete surprise. There are signs of rallying, but so far there has not been any coordinated reaction from their high command." Samina said.

"Are they approaching the artillery positions?"

"Yes, the eighth siege regiment says that its closing the range, their colonel is certain they would be in a mobile artillery duel within this half-hour. The seventh have dropped off their engineers at the downtown area."

"Good… Now we see how the Armsmaster reacts." She looked at the map. She had been dueling wits with the covenant Armsmaster for more than a year now. She understood fragments of his strategy. _Always go in strong and prepared._ There were at least three waves of forces prepared for the vanguard assaults. That much was certain. That was how the Armsmaster had fought, relentlessly and goal oriented, but compromising readily as the situation demanded. He was decisive, and calculating. No half measures.

_What would you do now? _She thought, straining to guess the Armsmaster's thoughts. _The vanguard assaults have been pulled of successively, much more easily than you though. You've used the last few hours in preparation for an all-out melee with my troops. You didn't get it. Your first wave flooded over my defensive positions, and now your underlings tell you that some of my forces are trying to flank you; a desperate bid to destroy your precious plasma mortars right under your nose._

_ Would you overestimate my forces and stop your advance? Would you see an opportunity? _

_ React to my actions, and let's see who ends up on top. _

* * *

Authors notes: And that wraps up this chapter. I was pretty scared of writing the first battle, but its done now. Not perfect, but hopefully good enough. If anyone thought the battle was one sided, its meant to be. Tomas is part of the PDF afterall.

Again, great thanks to Lord Vade for beta reading!

I would like to tell anyone reading this that this fanfic will have no Halo characters in it, although it does take many elements from it. A few characters might be similar to canon Halo ones, but you will not be meeting Cortana, MC, or the Sergeant. Most of the people in this Fanfic will be OCs presented in Canon 40k institutions.

P.S: The "Last Stand on Archos" is actually the name of another fanfic, written by Sir Winter. Check it up, its a great one-shot.


End file.
